


I Can't Judge 'Cause Who Am I

by Katybug1992



Series: You're the Man, But I Got the Power [6]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Women in the NHL, female Tyler Sequin, female jaden schwartz, female nolan patrick, female robert thomas, part of a series but can be read as a stand alone, romantic relationships definitely in background only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25471990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: If you're lucky enough to have another girl in your Draft Class, you tend to form a pretty strong bond.
Relationships: Jaden Schwartz & Tyler Sequin, Jaden Schwartz/Jonathan Toews, Robert Thomas & Nolan Patrick, Robert Thomas/Matthew Tkachuk, Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Series: You're the Man, But I Got the Power [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821067
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	I Can't Judge 'Cause Who Am I

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song Judgement by Casey Cook

1.Tell me your story, wanna know the whole damn thing.

Tyler zoned in on Jaden the first day they met. They were the only two girls in their draft class and that could be lonely, so Tyler decided they were going to lean on each other.

And Jaden was more guarded than Tyler expected, both of them were pleasantly surprised when Tyler seemed to surprise her first laugh out of Jaden - none of the guys in their class had gotten that reaction from her yet - and many have tried only to get spectacularly shot down. Tyler had been impressed at just how unimpressed Jaden was by the guys in their class.

Tyler had been intrigued by Jaden. She, herself, was an open book. She said what she wanted to say, did what she wanted to do, didn’t think much about it. But Jaden was so different. She was quieter, kept her head down and seemed like she wanted to just blend into the background when she was in a crowd.

“Come on,” Tyler grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the large room a number of the guys had been goofing off in, “girls’ night.”

“Tyler,” Jaden tried to argue.

“Nope, us girls gotta stick together, right?” Tyler grinned at her and mentally cheered when Jaden resigned herself to it.

“ ‘m not… good at girl stuff…” Jaden mumbled, leaning against the elevator wall and not looking at Tyler.

“You don’t have to be good at everything.” Tyler responded, “Just.... be yourself. You can do that with me. We’re in the same boat, Jaden.”

“I guess you’re right,” Jaden gave her a small smile as the elevator dinged and Tyler was pulling her out and down the hall.

“So, nails first or face masks first?” Tyler grinned, opening her door.

Jaden groaned but she already seemed lighter so Tyler laughed in response.

“So, Jaden Schwartz, woman of mystery,” Tyler settled herself across from Jaden on her bed, box of nail polish and manicure tools next to her, “tell me about yourself.”

And Jaden, surprisingly, did.

2.Don't hide from me, we've all done some crazy things.

Robbi Thomas was more of a people person than Nolan was. She was happy and bubbly and - honest to God - she giggled - she lit up the room as soon as she walked in.

Which is why Nolan thought it was weird that she was the only one who noticed that something was definitely wrong. Because Nolan didn’t usually pick up on that kind of thing. But Robby was in the corner of the room, and attempting to make herself as small as possible and looking lost.   
“Hey,” Nolan greeted, walking over and leaning against the wall next to her.

“Hi,” Robbi plastered a smile on her face, looking away from where the boys were - jousting? Nolan didn’t know and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“Put that fake ass smile away,” Nolan gave her an unimpressed look and nodded her head toward the door, “Quick, while they’re distracted.”

Robbi looked confused but followed Nolan anyway - and God did Nolan hope no one would ever take advantage of how trusting Robbi was because Nolan may have to kill someone if that happened.

“Where are we going?” Robbi finally asked after Nolan had led them out of the hotel and halfway to the little ice cream shop she had seen earlier that day.

“You looked like you needed to get out of there for a little bit.” Nolan responded, “And ice cream is always a good idea.”

And that got a little bit of a smile out of the other girl.

They got their ice cream and headed back outside, walking around aimlessly.

“So…” Nolan hoped Robbi would pick up the hit and spill but the other girl definitely wasn’t going to do that so Nolan sighed and said, “Look, something is obviously bothering you, so spill.”

It wasn’t the most subtle but the bluntness got a giggle out of Robbi so Nolan counted that as win.

“It’s just...everyone knows me as Matthew Tkachuk’s girlfriend and… and I love being Matty’s girlfriend. But I feel like more people want to ask me about Matty’s hockey and not mine. And that sucks. Because I love him so much but how am I supposed to forge my own path if I’m only ever put on Matthew’s?”

And...and Nolan had not been expecting that. And she had no idea what to say to that. 

“I… Look, I don’t know how to help you with that,” because Nolan was nothing if not blunt, “but I do know you’re good in your own right or you wouldn’t be here.”

“I know I’m good,” Robbi responded, “I just don’t know know what else I can do to prove myself to them. And those guys in there….”

“Boys are dumb,” Nolan nodded sagely, “But unfortunately, we have to deal with them.”

Robbi huffed out a laugh because Mitchie had told her that many times.

“But you’re lucky,” Nolan gave her a small smile, “because Matthew Tkachuk, as obnoxious as he is, if firmly in your corner. I have heard him on multiple occasions talking up your hockey. Our paths are gonna be harder to forge than theirs - that’s just a fact - but you have help forging yours. Take it. Use it to prove everyone wrong about you. And...it’s not the worse thing in the world if your boyfriend thinks you’re the best hockey in the world.”

“He doesn’t think I’m the best.”

“But he thinks you’re pretty high on the list.” Nolan smiled softly, “Look, that boy is insane about you, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Robbi giggled, smiling down at her ice cream with that same ridiculous look she got when Tkachuk texted her.

“So you know that he’s always gonna in your corner and will probably fight anyone who says otherwise.” Nolan bumped their shoulders together, “And so will I. ‘Cause we gotta stick together.”

Robbi beamed up at her and Nolan rolled her eyes, smiled threatening to break out.

3.We're the talk of our hometown, they were laughing then. But look who's laughing now.

Jaden spent her whole life being told she was too small. So she pushed herself, made sure her skill and speed made up for it. After all, she wasn’t that much smaller than the guys she played with.

The point was, she knew the look on Sequin’s face - because the girl may have had height, but she was a twig. Built like crazy, but stick thin.

“Three percent body fat,” Tyler sighed as Jaden walked over, looking disappointed, “I thought I put on some weight but my weight remained pretty steady and my body fat percentage when down.”

“Come on,” Jaden nodded toward the door, “I hear there’s a good taco place around the corner.”

And Tyler laughed because Jaden wasn’t great at the whole initiating girl time thing, but she was pretty good at noticing when Tyler needed it.

Jaden waited until they had ordered before saying, “I’ve been told I’m too small my entire life. The idea of me going into the WHL was laughable. The idea of me playing in college was laughable. The idea of my being drafted is laughable. But I have spent my entire life proving everyone wrong.”

“Jaden -”

“You’re a good fucking hockey player. You’re going to be drafted in the top three. And it’s because of your size. It’s because of your skill.”

“Thanks, Jaden,” Tyler gave a small smile.

“For what? I’m just telling you the truth.”

And Tyler had to laugh. Because Jaden Schwartz wasn’t one for girl time or girl talk, but she was never one to hold back what she was thinking. Tyler had seen the dressing down she had given Hallsy when he tried to cop a feel a couple days ago. Jaden also wasn’t one to go out of her way to be nice. It meant something for Jaden to tell her that she was better than her size.

4.Even if your past is dark. I'm willing to look past your scars and show you mine.

Boys are shit. That’s the first thing Nolan learned when she started to actually look like a girl. But...she wished she had had someone to warn her that being one of the only girls in your draft class meant that guys thought they had “dibbs” on you or whatever.

They apparently had a separate group chat without her and Robbi. Nico showed it to her. And Patty knew how men talked about her - had been aware since she was fucking sixteen years old. She knew how to avoid seeing the comments.

But Robbi… Robbi had Mitchie Marner on the Knights to help shield her and Matthew Tkachuk to make sure no one on the team talked about her in that way. Not that the Knights would. Mitchie was a powerhouse and had commanded the respect of that locker room. Robbi didn’t need Matthew Tkachuk to protect her honor.

But this wasn’t the Knights. And Robbi didn’t have those shields in place. But, somehow, Robbi was the one sliding down the wall to sit next to Nolan, putting a comforting hand on her arm. 

“Don’t listen to them,” Robbi whispered, inclining her head toward Nolan just slightly.

“I have dealt with those kinds of comments for a long time.” Nolan replied, eyes fixed on the wall across from her.

“Mitchie and Matty… they tried to protect me from them. Mitchie put the fear of God into anyone who so much thought it.” Robbi let out a bitter little laugh, “But they couldn’t stop anonymous posters, commenters, people who thought their opinion was valid and should be heard and paid attention to. I don’t know how many times Mitchie told me to avoid my mentions or comments or DMs. I don’t know how many times Matty had to put me back together because of a wide range of comments.”

“But these guys know us.” Nolan looked over at her, hating the tears filling her eyes, “They know us and they’re arguing in a GC about who gets to take a crack at which of us first. I mean...what the fuck is that?”

“Let me tell you something that Mitchie always used to tell me when I didn’t listen to her: Guys are shit and, at the end of the day, we have to rely on each other.” Robbie responded, “We can’t control what people say about us. We can’t control what those boys in there think about us. But we can control how they see us react. I mean, I guarantee if you punch Miro while he’s hitting on you, that’ll send a message.”

And Nolan had to laugh at that, looking over at Robbi to see her grinning back widely.

5.No-no-no judgements, nobody here can judge us now

“So, there’s this guy,” Jaden said, sounding for all the world like she hated the she hated to be saying those words and Tyler wished she could see her face.

“Teammate or townie?” Tyler asked, sipping her coffee.

“Rival team.” Jaden replied.

“Jaden Schwartz, are you fucking a Blackhawk?!” Tyler gasped, faux scandalized.

“I’m not sleeping with him…again...” Jaden trailed off.

Tyler rolled her eyes good-naturedly, even if Jaden could see her. She should have known she’d be the one leading this discussion even if Jaden was the one to start it.

“Who is it?” Tyler prompted, unable to wipe her grin off her face.

“...Toews.” Jaden eventually admitted.

“Oh my God!” Tyler squealed, her coffee all but forgotten, “Start from the beginning.”

And Jaden, with a lot of prompting, told Tyler about how Toews had spent most of their game against Chicago flirting with her and how she didn’t know if it was just to try to mess with her head and throw her off her game or if he was serious.

Then he had showed up at the same bar she was at with the team and the next thing she knew they were back at Toews’ place and then she was sneaking out to make it back to her hotel before curfew.

“How was it?!” Tyler asked once Jaden finished.

“Good…” Jaden replied and Tyler didn’t have to be looking at her to know that she was beat red.

“Just good?”

“I mean… Up until then I really only had experience with college Frat Boys so…”

“You can admit that you liked it. You can admit that you liked him.”

“I wouldn’t turn down a repeat performance.”

The way she said it made it sound like admitting out loud killed her a little and Tyler had to cackle at that.

“Okay, so you had a one night stand with an NHL star? So what?” Tyler asked, “What has you so wigged out?”

“I don’t know if he wants it to be a one night stand?” 

“What do you mean?”

“He asked Osh for my number….and Osh gave it to him...and he’s been texting…”

“Have you been responding?”

“It would be rude not to, right?”

“Oh, Jaden…” Tyler sighed fondly, “If you like the guy, go for it.”

“Fuckbuddies is probably the most I could hope for, right? I mean, during the season we would rarely see each other, so it would be insane to expect him to remain faithful and - ….do you know when the last time I hooked with someone who was sweet and considerate was?”

“You’re allowed to let yourself have nice things.” Tyler smiled softly, “And if hooking up with Jonathan Toews is your ‘nice thing’ then so be it. He’s a pretty attractive nice thing.”

And that got the desired effect as Jaden giggled.

6.No-no-no judgements, nobody here to tear us down.

Nolan wasn’t good at girl stuff. She couldn’t do her hair, she could only do the basic makeup routine, she didn’t have a full- ten step skincare routine, she had never done a spa day, she could barely paint her nails.

But Robbi was different. She did all of that. And they were sitting in her room, in the basement of Keith-Freaking-Tkachuk’s house, with a bowl of homemade avocado-honey facemask sitting between them.

When Robbi asked if she wanted to do something after the game, this had not been what Nolan had been expecting. She definitely hadn’t expected to follow Robby through the Tkachuk house as she answered Keith Tkachuk’s ten thousand questions before calling him an old man and leading Nolan downstairs, yelling back up that she would need to take Nolan back to the hotel the Flyers were staying in later that night.

“What’s it like living with Keith Tkachuk?” Nolan asked as Robbi picked up a brush to apply the mask to Nolan’s face.

“It’s Walt,” Robbi shrugged, “I’ve known him for a long time. He treats me like a daughter - actually, I have stricter rules than Taryn. But it’s great. He’s always eager to break down a game with me and we watch games together whenever possible. Especially Matthew and Brady’s games. I’m happy I’m not living alone.”

“Still,” Nolan shrugged, “I mean, it’s still…”

“I felt like that, maybe, the first few times I met him. But he’s like a second dad to me.” Robbi carefully applied the mask to Nolan’s face, “My only complaint is that Matty isn’t allowed down here by himself and if we’re in his room, the door needs to be open.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Robbi giggled, “I mean, the curfew isn’t great but we have an off day the next day, it’s flexible. And I can usually just text him or Chanty if I’m gonna be late.”

“It must be nice.”

“Don’t you live, like, a floor above Konecny?”

“I just mean… like, you get this taste of home here.”

“Yeah.” Robbi nodded, handing the brush over to Nolan, “It makes it easier being so far away from home.”

She must have sensed Nolan’s hesitation because Robbi softly instructed, “Hold like you hold a paintbrush and just paint my face.”

“So…” Robbi trailed off, “how’re things with Konency?”

“Robbi…”

“I tell you shit about Matty.”

“I -”

“And about Jaden’s drama with your wannabe-big bro, so…” Robbi’s grin was really hard to paint around, “tell me about Travis.”

“He’s loud and obnoxious,” Nolan chuckled softly, “but from the first day we met, he never treated me like I was different. G claims he ran into a wall when he first saw me, but… I really like him.”

“And has he made a move? Because, Patty, I know what it looks like when I guy is completely into someone and he is so into you.”

“We’ve been out a couple times… just us… but we haven’t had the relationship talk yet.”

“I think you should.”

“Really?” Nolan scoffed, a bit surprised at the surety in Robbi’s voice.

“Look, Jaden won’t take my advice - or anyone’s advice, I’m pretty that’s why Giroux went over to hers after the game - but you? I can help.”

“Just because you’re practically engaged -”

“And I got there by having the hard talks.” Robbi took Nolan’s hand, “I know you don’t like admitting that you have emotions. Jaden is so the same way. But Matty and I… we’ve made it this long because we have those honest conversations. They’re not easy, and sometimes they’re really fucking hard. But the easiest decision I have ever made was to talk to Matthew about how I felt about him after we had been ‘seeing each other’ for a month.”

“Maybe…”

“Trust me. Get his favorite meal and just...talk.” Robbi smiled, “From what I know about Konecny, he’ll take over that conversation if you initiate.”

“Is this edible?” Nolan asked, looking down at the remnants of the mask and hoping Robbi would drop the topic.

“Technically? Yes.” Robbi nodded, “Do I recommend it? No.”

“You’ve totally tried it before.”

“I haven’t, but Matty has.”

And Nolan couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped.

7.Here's to the weirdos, to the underdogs, to the wonderers.

Tyler was dragging Jaden out to a concert at a smaller venue in Dallas and Jaden had managed to get ready and sneak past her teammates so they wouldn’t see her in the dress and heels that Tyler insisted upon. 

“So you can dress up outside of game day.” Tyler chirped as she pulled herself into Tyler’s truck.

“Why do you even HAVE a pick-up?” Jaden grumbled, getting herself settled in.

“The dogs like to sit in the bed.”

“Of course.”

Tyler threw her head back and laughed before pulling out and heading toward the venue.

The building they pulled up to was more honky tonk than club and Jaden definitely felt like she and Tyler were both over dressed.

Jaden followed Tyler in and through the venue, the taller woman pulling Jaden to the font of the crowd after they stopped to get drinks from the bar, joined her in screaming when the band came out. 

The next several hours were spent singing and dancing with Tyler and by the time Jaden got back to her hotel, she barely had a voice, her feet hurt from the heels, she was tipsy, and she was the best kind of tired. 

And very happy she had let Tyler document their adventure on Insta, as she flipped through her tagged photos and played Tyler’s story.

She even put up with the chirps when she stumbled down to team breakfast the next morning in leggings and a hoodie, hair still wet from her shower.

‘Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed that,’ she texted Tyler, receiving a selfie a Tyler looking just as awake as Jaden felt.

8.No-no-no judgements. I can't judge cuz' who am I?

“So, this is your place?” Robbi asked, looking around the apartment.

“It’s not much.” Nolan shrugged, “I ordered us Sushi.”

“Awesome!” Robbi grinned, turning to face Nolan, her dress swaying around her legs, “And I literally have no room to judge anyone’s living conditions. I live in my boyfriend’s parents’ house.”

Nolan huffed out a laugh, settling onto the couch. It was weird not having TK wandering around the place after a game, but he insisted on letting Nolan catch up with Robbi without any distractions.

“Travis lives downstairs, right?”

“Yeah. It’s nice. Doesn’t make it seem as lonely as it could be.”

“Must be nice. Having your own place.” Robbi sat down next to Nolan, crossing her legs ‘properly’ - in a way Nolan had never mastered, “I mean, I love Walt and Chanty. I love spending time with Taryn. But there is a certain freedom that would come from having my own place.”

“Can’t sneak Matthew downstairs when he’s in town.” Nolan grinned.

“God, no.” Robbi shook her head with a smile, “Walt does not trust Matty.”

“Teeks…. Teeks asked if I wanted to move in with him...next year.” Nolan looked down at the arm of the couch.

“That’s so exciting!”

“You think?”

“Yeah! That’s huge! Are you… are you ready for that step?”

“I think so. I mean, we already practically live together already, this would just make it official.”

“I’m so happy for you, Patty, really!”

“We haven’t told anyone yet… I think G might know though.”

“Mamma Bear Powers,” Robbi shrugged, “Jaden is the same way. Have you given Travis an answer?”

“He hasn’t asked for one yet. Just asked that I think about it.”

“Do you need to make a Pro and Con list? I can totally help you do that!”  
“No,” Nolan huffed out a laugh, “I’m going to say yes. I just don’t want to seem too eager. Scare him away or whatever.”

“Nolan, that boy is crazy about you! Nothing you do could scare him away.”

“Enough about me.” Nolan kicked her leg lightly, “You planning to move out of your inlaws next season?”

“They aren’t my inlaws -”

“Yet!”

“And I don’t know. I guess part of it would depend on if Rou makes the final roster out of Camp. Because if he doesn’t, then my next best option is moving into Sammy and Dunner’s house with them - which they’ve offered plenty of times but I think it would be too much Sammy and Dunner. And, like, staying at Walt’s - when Matty or Brady are in town, they don’t have split time.”

“You’re gonna be stuck there forever.”

“Eventually, I get my own place...in a couple years.”

Nolan laughed, head resting on the back of couch, only lifting it again when there was a knock at the door.

She groaned as she pulled herself up and headed to the door.

“Hey,” Travis grinned, “delivery guy accidentally buzzed me.”

“You didn’t have to bring it up. You have corrected them.”

“I know.”

Nolan shared a glance with Robbi before stepping aside and pulling Travis inside, “Come on. There’s plenty.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your -”

“Teeks, I wouldn’t have invited you in if it wasn’t okay.”

“You must be Marner’s pride and joy,” Travis grinned at Robbi as he walked inside.

“So she says,” Robbi giggled.

“As someone with plenty of experience playing against Mitchie, there is plenty of her in you.”

“I take that as a compliment.”

“Better to have Mitchie’s style than Matty’s.” Nolan snorted, “Are you even allowed to fight?”

“Bozie literally pulled me back to the bench one time, so I’m guessing no.” Robby grinned in response, “Saw you go, though. Impressive.”

“G taught me well.”

“Jaden taught me how to piss the other team off enough with my skill that they try to start something and either get a penalty or get the shit beat out of them.”

Nolan laughed and Robbi’s grin grew as she watch Travis completely light up at the sound.

9.Lost in the city where nobody knows our names. Don't feel so lonely ‘cause' I can feel your pain.

“Well, look at the Rookie,” Tyler’s teasing tone greeted Jaden as she answered the phone, “scoring in her NHL debut!”

“Hello to you, too, Tyler,” Jaden smiled as she took as seat on the bus, “How was your night?”

“This isn’t about me...yet,” Tyler responded, “I was just checking my phone while out with the team and noticed that my favorite Blue made her debut something to remember.”

“I just had an opening.”

“Oh, my God, I swear I won’t talk to you for a week if you ever use that as your response to the media.”

“Who are you talking to that’s more important than me?” Shatty asked jokingly, “Got a secret boyfriend?”

“Rookie’s got a boyfriend?!” Osh exclaimed, thus bringing the entire team’s attention to her.

“I’ll talk to you later, Tyler,” Jaden said regretfully.

“Okay. I’m gonna go pick out a Masshole to hook up with.”

Jaden laughed as Tyler hung up and readied herself for the onslaught of questions because there was no way they would buy that she wasn’t talking to a boyfriend.

10.I'll still be here tomorrow, we'll break the morning light. I'll keep you safe tonight.

Robbi knew it wasn’t a big deal. She knew that Matty didn’t care. She knew that Matty loved her. 

“We’ve been together for four years!” Robbi whisper shouted into her phone, shut in her closet in her locked bedroom because she did not need anyone in her family over hearing this, “I love him. I trust him. We do other stuff. I… I should be ready.”

“Robbi, if he’s pressuring you -” Nolan tried to get a word in.

“He’s not, though. He’s being a perfect gentleman and I want to take that last step, you know? But I just… I can’t get myself to be ready.”

“You can’t make yourself be ready,” Nolan responded, zooming right past the fact that Robbi had just called Matthew Tkachuk a ‘perfect gentleman’. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Look, I lost my virginity way before probably ready to. I thought that sex was the only way to get this guy to like me. And it turned out that was the only reason he liked me.”

“So… I…?”

“Robbi, that boy… I’ve seen how he talks about you and I have seen the texts he sends you. He loves you now and he’ll still love even if you’re never ready. It’s kind of disgusting.”

Robbi giggled at that and Nolan relaxed. If Robbi was giggling, she felt better. And Nolan wasn’t really good at the whole comforting thing. But she was good, she had discovered, at making Robbi’s giggle comeback. Matthew or Brady could do the rest of the cheering up.

And Nolan had also figured out, very early on, that if anyone made Robbi’s giggle disappear, Nolan would destroy that person.

11.Even if your past is dark, I'm willing to look past your scars and show you mine.

Tyler didn’t know why her first thought as she looked around her new apartment in Dallas was to call Jaden. The other girl hadn’t been around that long. She had played, like, a season and a half and was already being talked about as part of the future of her franchise.

Tyler had thought she was part of the future of Boston’s franchise but she guessed she was wrong. Guess second overall picks were expendable. She knew why she was being moved. She knew she had never, truly, fit into that very masculine locker room. She had thought she was making history - first female drafted by Boston in the front round.

And she didn’t even have her dog with her yet. It was just her, her empty apartment, and the Benns a couple floors up.

She didn’t even look when she answered her phone.

“Took you long enough to answer your damn phone,” Tyler glared at the phone like Jaden could see it on the other end, “How are you?”

“You know...most people get the hint when their phone call isn’t answered the first three times.” Tyler replied.

“You didn’t let that stop you from trying to get a hold of me when Mandi died.” Jaden responded bluntly, “I know a trade is a long way away from losing a sibling. And I know that I can’t relate, personally. But I do know that you can talk to me. No judgement, right?”

And Tyler shook her head, biting her lip as tears filled her eyes again before she spilled everything to Jaden. Everything she had been keeping inside since she came to Boston, everything she had been feeling since she got the news of the trade. And Jaden just listened to her. Which was what Tyler really needed.

“And now I just have this stupid, empty apartment.” Tyler capped it all off with a sniffle.

“Well, get your laptop out and pull up IKEA.” Jaden replied, “New city, new crib, right?”

“God, you’re ridiculous.” Tyler found herself laughing for the first time since her agent had called, but still getting her laptop. Jaden wasn’t used to having her requests denied anymore. Tyler knew how quickly Jaden’s teammates gave into her.

“I’ll help you!”

“I’ve seen your place, Jaden.”

“So you know I have excellent home decorating taste!”

“You wanted to paint your bathroom that awful orange color!”

“It would have looked great.”

“Whatever.”

“What furniture do you want to look at first?”

Tyler rolled her eyes but let herself be distracted clicking through the IKEA website and attempted to not just pronounce the names of each item but describe them in detail to Jaden.

And as much as Tyler had wanted to just wallow in her own self-pity, it was nice to have the distraction.

12.No-no-no judgements, nobody here can judge us now.

Travis had made actual plans for their anniversary and Nolan had no idea what she was going to wear. And G was busy - Claude-Marie told her it was date night which Nolan took to mean she was having phone sex with Crosby all night.

But that meant that Nolan was stuck looking at the limited make-up options she had and a hair curler she had no idea how to use. And no idea what to wear.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this….” Nolan muttered, grabbing her phone.

“Hey!” Robbi’s face appeared on the screen,”What’s up?”

“Are you...busy? Right now?” 

“I can step away,” Robbi responded, standing up - much to the apparent complaint of whoever she had stepped on in the process of crawling out from the pile, “What’s up?”

“Teeks is taking me someplace nice for our anniversary and I don’t know what to wear or do with my hair or -”

“I got, Nolan,” Robbi grinned, “Start with what you’re wearing.”

“A...dress?”

Robbie rolled her eyes - which Nolan did not need - and asked, “Which dress?”

“I don’t know.” Nolan tried not to whine.

“Okay. Let’s make it easier.” Robbi replied, “Go with black. Classy. Everyone always looks good in it and it’s super easy to accessorize.”

Nolan nodded and headed over to her closet and showed Robbi the black dresses.

“Do you have any that are a little sexy?” Robbi asked, “If not, that’s fine.”

“This one? I think?” Nolan pulled out the dress she had only worn once, “My sister made me buy it.”

Robbi talked her through getting ready, doing a surprisingly good job of not laughing whenever Nolan started cussing out the curler.

“With your eyes, go gold shadow.” Robbi instructed after Nolan showed her the eyeshadow palette, “And the coral lip.”

“Thank you,” Nolan sighed as she zipped the dress up and stepped into the heels Robbi insisted she wear.

“Anytime.” Robbi giggled, “Now, go knock him dead.”

13.No-no-no judgements, nobody here to tear us down.

The worst day of Tyler’s fucking life is when some douchebag released her nudes. Nudes she had thought she sent to someone she could trust. A guy who had seemed really sweet, who really liked her for her. 

Her team kept their distance from her, her sisters and mom came down to Dallas to make sure she didn’t do anything rash. Even Jamie had treated her with kid gloves.

“So,” Jaden started talking right after Tyler picked up, “G said that we should all post our own nudes in solidarity.”

“What did Jonathan say about?” Tyler huffed out a laugh.

“He said he wouldn’t be opposed to me sending mine to him but he would prefer that I didn’t send them to anyone else.”

“Jaden Schwartz, have you learned how to take nudes?!”

“We’re not talking about me.”

“Fine. We circle back.”

“I would have called sooner but we just got off of two back-to-backs and I saw your family was with you.”

“I really liked him, you know?” Tyler sniffed, “And, like, yeah, like, it sucks that everyone’s seen those pictures now. But, I mean, I did the Body Issue so it’s not like people haven’t seen me naked. It’s just -”

“You trusted him.”

“Yeah. I did.”

“So yell. Vent. Say everything you can’t say to your teammates or your family. Everything you can’t say to Benn. Because I have never once judged you for anything - and I have seen to do and say some very questionable things. There’s never been any judgement between us and there never will be. I got your back, Segs.”

And Tyler just let loose. Everything she had been holding in for the past several days came flying out of her mouth.

And Jaden sat on the other end of the phone - only stopping Tyler once when one of her teammates let themselves into Jaden’s room to bring her food - and just listened. Because Tyler didn’t need someone to commiserate with, she didn’t need someone to be angry with, she didn’t need someone to try to help. She just needed to have her voice heard.

Jaden was probably the best person at filling that role that Tyler had ever met.


End file.
